It was a frustrating afternoon for the Chattanooga men’s basketball team as it dropped a 61-50 decision to feisty University of Texas-Pan American in the South Padre Island Convention Center in South Padre Island, Texas. The loss puts the Mocs at 2-3 on the year, while the Broncs move to 1-5.
DeAntre Jefferson once again led the way for the Mocs on the nine-day, four-game road trip with 12 points and nine rebounds. UTPA was led by Luis Valera with 12 point and eight boards.
It was a slow start for both teams.
After UTPA scored first on a Ben Smith three-pointer, the Mocs held the Broncs without a field goal for more than five minutes (5:18) but could not take early control. UTC went through a five-plus minute drought of its own as the score including a two-for-eight start at the charity stripe to trail 9-4 with 12:04 left in the half.
The Mocs found their scoring touch going on a 15-2 run to go up eight, 19-11, with 6:50 until the break. True freshman Sam Watson provided a big spark off the bench with six points on two three-pointers.
The Broncs answered closing out the half on a 17-4 run of its own. UTPA took a 28-23 lead into the intermission. The Mocs struggled shooting from all over the court making 31.0 percent (9-29) from the field, 20.0 percent from three-point range (2-10) and just 30 percent (3-10) from the free throw line.
The Mocs got off to another slow start in the second half scoring just eight points over the first 10-plus minutes of the game. That gave the Broncs the ability to push to as much as an 18-point cushion.
Trailing 57-42 with 3:42 left, the Mocs got back-to-back three-pointers by Josh Odem and Ricky Taylor to cut the lead to 58-48 at 2:07. But it was a matter of too little, too late for the Mocs as UTPA held on for the 61-50 win.
The Chattanooga bench out-scored the starters 31 to 19 and grabbed 19 of the team’s 38 rebounds. The Mocs shot just 32.7 percent (18-55) from the floor, 28.6 percent (6-21) from behind the arc and 40 percent (8-10) on free throws.
The Mocs will face Longwood Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (ET). The games are part of the South Padre Island Invitational. The team returns to Chattanooga on Sunday and heads back on the road Tuesday with a visit to Jacksonville State at 8 p.m. (ET).